Umbrellas that are made for awning type of use are generally large in size and, as a consequence, may be built with special systems for opening and closing such umbrellas. These systems presently used are generally of the pulley type or the spring type of system. In the pulley and cord system presently known for use with umbrellas a double pulley wheel arrangement is mounted at the top of the umbrella pole and attached at one end to the ribholder for lifting the ribs during opening, while the other end of the rope either freely extends on the outside of the umbrella pole with a pin used for supporting and locking the ribholder at a designated position on the pole where the pin extends through a small hole in the pole. Alternately, the pulley rope can be connected either internally through the inside of a hollow pole or externally near the bottom of the pole to a hand crank mechanism which controls the rope and, consequently, the opening and closing of the umbrella. In some of these type of pulley systems, a tongue type of spring is mounted near the top of the pole at a position where the spring extends outside of the pole for locking the rib holder at the designated height so that it does not slide below the spring position. Also, pressure springs are employed in the hand cranks for preventing the handle from going backwards and thereby locking the position of the umbrella in a ratchet-like manner.
In the pulley systems employing hand cranks, the crank mechanism and spring associated therewith are often subject to breakdown and involve relatively expensive manufacturing for the mechanism. Also, the pulley and cord system used in such umbrellas is complicated and, where hand cranks are not employed such pulley systems require that the operator raps the cord around his hand and then looks for the locking pin for insertion into the hole in the pole. This is cumbersome and a difficult manipulation for some users.